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Re: [RC] thin horses and Laminitis - bluwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxQuoting Rebecca Bianchi <rnbianchi@xxxxxxxxx>:I recently moved our three horses from the rain soaked, mud filled "pastures" (read: no grass) of California to a 10 acre green grass pasture in Maryland. I have had grazing muzzles on our horses 20 to 22 hours a day for the last month for fear of Laminitis problems. If they are only grazing for 2-4 hours per day, they may very well not be getting enough! They need approximately 20% of their body weight in grass per day & that would be hard to do in the time period they are alloted. Of course, they may be getting a BIT more thru the muzzles. :-) I also received an email this morning warning me that the local endurance vets won't let a horse start a ride that doesn't meet weight standards. That is pure mis-information! To my knowledge of riding in the area for the last 20+ years, there are no established "weight standards", but they may give you some unsolicited advice on nutrition at the start. :-) The days are often warm and the nights are quite cool (40's to 50's) which I understand concentrates the sugars in the grass. Should I still be muzzling the thin horse? Is it safe after a month's time to start leaving the muzzles off? You're right - the grass's sugars are less concentrated in the afternoons & evenings - the best time to let them graze. As the year progresses & the grass matures, it will be less risky as well - generally the end of June on. It depends a great deal on the weather... One option you have is to fence off what is to be a dry lot. Mow the grass back very short & keep it down by grazing or mowing. Feed the best quality hay you can find now at the end of the hay season. New hay should be out in a few weeks - stock up onm that great timothy-orchard mix we have around here. Let the guys out on pasture in the PM and put them in the dry lot with free choice hay the rest of the time. You may still need to supplement the thin horse by feeding him concentrates by himself (grain, beet pulp, etc.) In the future, if your horses are out on the grass as it starts to come in each spring, they will acclimate to it and have much less risk. Our geldings are out on pasture 24/7 and allowed to graze at liberty with no problems. Linda Flemmer Bruceton Mills, WV =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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